PULIKKALI

Image ID: 117800304

Caption : KOCHI, 26/08/2010: Pulikkali, the traditional tiger dance of Kerala, being staged in full splendor at the Swaraj Round in Thrissur, Kerala on August 26, 2010. About 500 performers, wearing tiger masks and having their bodies painted, danced wild to the beat of drums on the fourth day of the Onam festival. One of the few animal mimetic dances of primordial origin and the only folk-art that involves painting of the human body on a large scale, it was originally introduced to Kerala as part of the Moharram by Tamil speaking Musilims.
Photo: K.K. Mustafah